Knowing your employee

In some ways, giving feedback is similar to giving apresentation or public speaking, you have to know your audience.Think about it, when giving a presentation about theadoption of a new software program to a group ofexecutives, you'd be brief, use very little technical language, andwould focus on the cost and benefits to be obtained.If, however, you were talking to a group ofIT professionals in the company, you would be expected touse much more detail, all of therelevant technical lingo, and talk more about securityrisks and other issues they care about, as opposed to bottom line costs and benefits.

Knowing your audience will often make orbreak a presentation, and feedback is very similar.To make sure you tailor remarks for the specific person towhom you'll be speaking, I want you to consider a few issues.First is the person's experience level.Are they a rookie or a very seasoned employee?Don't be hasty.Don't just run over to them and speak to them as you would anyone else.Think about their experience and expertise.Here's why.If you speak over their head or if you speak down to them, you'llturn a shot at delivering good feedbackinto an exercise in damaging your relationship.

When you speak over someone's head, you're assuming they know too much.When the other person gets lost,their confidence takes a hard hit.And they very often shut down right there in theconversation, and just nod instead of speaking up to say anything.On the other hand, if you talk under someone, youwon't hurt their confidence, but you certainly will insult their intelligence.No professional wishes to be addressed in a manner thatmakes them feel like you think they're six years old.They'll either shut down and contemplate their contempt for you,or they'll blurt out defensively to explain what they know.

If you are in any way unsure about theirexperience on a given topic, here's the safe play.Let's say you need to talk to them about some financial process.Don't start by saying, you do know the first step beforeyou ever enter a transaction is to check with your counterparty, right?That's very likely to sound demeaning.Instead, start by probing.Consider saying, okay, why don't we start byhaving you explain your understanding of the process?That way, there's no threat or condescension.Next, after experience or expertise, think about whetherthe person has a thick skin or thin skin.

That's the classic way of asking whetherthey accept feedback very well without beingoffended at all, or find it difficultto receive feedback and can become easily offended.Neither is good or bad per say, they're more about personality differences, butyou'll want to think about it in order to shape your feedback correctly.To know which one they are, just think about the last year offeedback interactions you've had with them,and what their average response looks like.Then of course, you have to realize thatthey might not be feeling average right now.

So it's time to consider the person's current mood andstress level.Everyone has tough periods of time where we aren't quite ourselves.The more abnormally stressed out they are, the more you'll have to shapeyour feedback appropriately, or possibly find a better time to connect with them.So those are the major components, their expertise, their historyof receiving the feedback, and their current mood and stress.This might sound like a lot to think through, but it's not.In just one or two minutes,you can think through each of these.

Then, you'll be ready to think about the right time to deliver feedback,at what level to start talking, and how much you should try to give.That's the thoughtful way to make sure your employee is willingand able to effectively process the feedback you need to share.

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Author

Released

3/7/2014

In this course, author Todd Dewett helps you identify ways to give both positive and negative feedback to employees. Learn how to create a culture driven by meaningful feedback and deliver coaching and suggestions to help employees stretch and grow. Discover the characteristics of helpful feedback, different feedback types, structured conversations, and strategies to refocus difficult employee reactions.

Lynda.com is a PMI Registered Education Provider. This course qualifies for professional development units (PDUs). To view the activity and PDU details for this course, click here.The PMI Registered Education Provider logo is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.